Learning and doing justice
Becoming a people prepared to identify injustice, confront injustice, and do repair in the aftermath.
Injustice radar
The work of justice
Biblical justice
Understanding how injustice works - and how much God hates it
Interpersonal
Happens between people and in relationships or groups
Functions through deception + coercion
Systemic
Happens in our laws, policies, and institutional practices
Functions through bias + corruption
Cultural
Happens in our values, theologies, priorities, and hierarchies
Functions through discrimination + dishonor
“Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! Amos 5
Learning the skills for the work of justice
Confronting injustice
Injustices don’t disappear on their own. It takes intentionality to stop bullies, rework systems, and change mentalities. Developing the skills to investigate, intervene, and advocate prepares us to counter injustice effectively and sustainably.
Repair in the aftermath of injustice
The devastation of injustice doesn’t end when the injustice itself ends. The wounds of injustice are ongoing for victims. The perpetrators of injustice can continue to do injustice if they are not held accountable. If the conditions that facilitated the injustice are not reformed, the injustices will continue to pop up in different forms like weeds that aren’t cut out at the roots.
A holy imagination for justice
Six biblical practices form the core not only of God’s justice, but also of God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness.
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Rest is not just for those who can afford it. In God’s economy, through Sabbath, it’s up to the whole community (employers specifically) to make sure everyone has a weekly, predictable day off to connect, play, decompress, worship, and breathe.
Deuteronomy 5
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God's design establishes fair legal, religious, and political systems that are free from both the internal forces (biases) and external pressures (corruption) that unjustly skew decisions, outcomes, and policies.
Leviticus 19:15, Deuteronomy 16:18-20
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God doesn’t want the beloved community to be sliced and diced according to the usual ways: status, wealth, disability, ethnicity, etc. So God says to use tithe money to host dinner parties that cross our typical boundaries.
Deuteronomy 16, Luke 14
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Too rich is not good. Too poor is not good. So God put mechanisms in place to stop extreme wealth inequality. Every 7 years, in the Sabbath years, debts were to be cancelled and national bonded laborers set free “with generous provision.” Every 50 years, in the Jubilee, land returned to the original owners.
Leviticus 25, Luke 12, II Cor 8:13-15
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In God’s design, the community safety net includes 1) food, 2) interest-free loans, and 3) a go-to person for housing + rescue. This limits the vulnerability to oppression of people who fall on hard times and provides a way for people to get back on their feet.
Deuteronomy 23+24, Luke 6:27-36
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Protection from abuse, exploitation, and deception in our relationships and community, especially for more vulnerable populations like immigrants, widows, fatherless children, people with less wealth, people with disabilities, prisoners, and day laborers/hired workers.
Leviticus 19, Luke 3+4, Matthew 25
